Games of 2010: 20-11

December 30, 2010

Diego Milito, scorer of both the goals in Inter's Champions League final win

The penultimate part of the review of the year.

20. Juventus 1-2 Roma

This game feels like an age ago, but it was crucial in both Ciro Ferrara’s demise, and Roma launching themselves towards a Scudetto challenge. The first half was a terrible match, but it opened out in the second period. Ferrara wanted the win at 1-1 and made an attacking change on his right-hand side, moving Hasan Salihamidzic to right-back, but it ended up costing Juve defensively, when John Arne Riise stormed forward unchecked to nod in a superb David Pizarro ball.

A relatively low-key final. Bayern dominated possession of the ball as Inter sat back with what often looked like a 4-4-1-1, but the German side were unable to take the half-chances they created, most notably with three missed opportunities from Thomas Muller. At the other end, Wesley Sneijder played very high up the pitch, almost as a forward, and drifted between the lines in a position Bayern had problems with. Diego Milito grabbed both goals following direct Inter attacks down the centre of the pitch.

The first half of this game was all Brazil, to the point where it was difficult to imagine how Holland could get back into it. The Dutch had created little, found themselves unable to win the ball, and were having particular problems with the space afforded to Robinho, partly a consequence of how high up the pitch Arjen Robben was playing. In the second half, Holland focused their attacking play down their right-hand side – and both goals came following corners from that flank. Wesley Sneijder was credited with both, though the first was really an own goal from Felipe Melo, and Melo’s nightmare continued when he was sent off for a stamp. Ultimately, Brazil failed because they had no plan B – their system was based around sitting back and counter-attacking, but when you need a goal, that approach is not particularly helpful.

Jorge Jesus was well aware of the threat Hulk offered – indeed, the Brazilian right-sided forward was the reason Jesus changed his usual line-up, playing centre-back David Luiz at left-back and left-back Fabio Coentrao on the left of midfield, to give more protection down that side. Luiz was unable to cope with the pace and power of Hulk in wide areas, however, and close support from Fernando Belluschi outfought Benfica down the right. All five goals came from that wing, in one of the best team performances of the year.

The most notable aspect of the World Cup Final its sheer physicality, particularly from the Dutch – but after the game settled down it was a good tactical battle. Indeed, watch the game without the first 45 minutes and it’s a decent spectacle – it was tight, cagey and nervous, of course, but both managers made attacking substitutions as the match went on – Rafael van der Vaart on for Nigel de Jong, Cesc Fabregas on for Xabi Alonso – which opened things out. Spain were the more positive side but Holland probably had the best chances at 0-0 through Arjen Robben. In the end, Spain only made the breakthrough after Holland went down to ten men – it’s a shame when such a big match is settled like that, but by turning up with such an aggressive approach, the Dutch could hardly complain when one of their players was eventually dismissed.

Bayern had done exactly the same to Fiorentina in the previous round – a late 2-1 win at home, before being outplayed in the away leg, and Arjen Robben coming up with a superb ‘winner’ to make it 5-5 and send Bayern through on away goals. The first leg was notable for a rare tactical mistake from Sir Alex Ferguson – playing 4-5-1 and concerned about Martin Demichelis’ runs forward from centre-back, he brought on Dimitar Berbatov for Michael Carrick to try and subdue the Argentine. This basically worked, but had the knock-on effect of opening out the midfield and therefore Bayern dominated the final 15 minutes, when they grabbed their two goals. The first was fortunate and the second was from an individual error, but Bayern’s pressure after the switch should not be ignored. United were far superior in the second leg – Ferguson dropped Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs for the younger legs of Rafael, Darron Gibson and Nani, and the home side pressed relentlessly. Rafael picked up two bookings, however, and Robben’s superb volley from a corner actually went in next to the near post that Rafael had been marking.

Considering that Roma’s good run of form had been based around a clearly-defined, lopsided 4-2-3-1 formation, Claudio Ranieri’s decision to switch to an old-fashioned 4-3-3 (or 4-3-1-2 when Francesco Totti dropped deeper) formation was strange. It was downright stupid when considering that Lazio were playing with a back three that was vulnerable when playing against width – Roma offered no width in the first half, and Lazio were entirely comfortable. A change was inevitable, but it took some guts for Ranieri to remove Roma’s two golden boys, Totti and Daniele de Rossi, and bring on Rodrigo Taddei and Jeremy Menez instead. The two substitutions paid off brilliantly, though – Taddei won a penalty, Menez won a free-kick, and both were smashed into the net by Mirko Vucinic.

The less memorable of the two Clasicos, but a very interesting game nevertheless. Pep Guardiola started with a surprise line-up, with Dani Alves in a right-wing position and Carles Puyol at right-back, playing Pedro on the left and Lionel Messi as a false nine. Real used a flat diamond in midfield which provided some attacking threat, but left them vulnerable defensively, and completely failed to take care of Xavi. He pulled the strings and dominated the game to a ridiculous extent – he set up both goals for Messi and Pedro, and could have had two more assists but for Iker Casillas getting the better of Messi in one-on-ones.

Inter started with a 4-3-1-2 and went 1-0 up, but Wesley Sneijder was dismissed on 30 minutes for dissent, forcing them back. Jose Mourinho’s response was to keep essentially the same shape versus Milan’s 4-2-1-3 – he had 4 v 3 at the back, 3 v 3 in midfield, and dealt with the opposition full-backs by telling Goran Pandev and Diego Milito to stay in wide positions when they didn’t have the ball, pinning Ignazio Abate and Luca Antonini back. Inter didn’t just protect their lead, they extended it.

Simply a superb game of football from two positive, technically brilliant teams. The pressing from both sides made for a high-tempo, exciting battle – Villarreal’s 4-2-2-2 gave Barcelona a challenge they weren’t used to, especially when Giuseppe Rossi and Nilmar moved wide and meant Barca’s full-backs struggled to scamper forward. Villarreal’s numerical disadvantage did mean they struggled to pick up Sergio Busquets, though, and Barcelona were the better side overall. Lionel Messi’s strike was an excellent goal to cap possibly the most attractive game of football of the year.

24 Responses to “ Games of 2010: 20-11 ”

That’s all very well and good but who do you think should be the next Burnley manager?!

Someone... on January 1, 2011 at 12:31 am

Bielsa!

FooBar on December 30, 2010 at 2:48 pm

Five of these ten games featured Wesley Sneijder and / or Arjen Robben. (And Mark van Bommel, but apparently it’s a form of sacrilege to point out what a brilliant season that man had)

Dan on December 30, 2010 at 4:49 pm

Mark van Bommel is a world class player. Unfortunately his cynical and ruthless streak makes him unpopular. As Paul Hayward of the Guardian said, he would kick his granny if she went near him with a football.

Voodoo Chile on December 31, 2010 at 10:25 am

It’s a shame he doesn’t get more credit, he and Nigel de Jong formed perhaps the best defensive midfield in the world cup and he was also instrumental in Bayerns Champions League final. He’s the kind of player you love to have in you team, and hate to play against.

Otter on December 31, 2010 at 3:24 pm

> He’s the kind of player you love to have in your team

Do you really think Bert van Marwijk would agree? The poor guy watched van Bommel and de Jong turn each Holland game into a contest to see who could get sent off first. No manager or supporters want that kind of added stress at the World Cup, much less the final.

scalia on January 2, 2011 at 4:37 pm

well van Marwijk is his father in law LOL

FooBar on January 3, 2011 at 6:47 am

Yet neither of them got sent off, or even suspended for a 2nd yellow. How you watch a game is heavily influenced by things like the commentary and your expectations beforehand. Being somewhat between two cultures myself, I followed the tournament both through the Dutch and the English media, and experienced two completely different tournaments this way.

Expectations about Holland in the English speaking world are influenced by the kind of people who wrote that ridiculous book ‘Brilliant Orange’. People expect Holland to play a free flowing, attacking kind of football, with brilliant individual players and little regard for teamwork or tactics. A support act, providing the entertainment before the real contenders come on with a more realistic style.

Yes, Holland played a more defensive and physical style this tournament, with more emphasis on tactics and teamwork than usual. This is how England, Italy, Germany and Argentina usually play, and even Brazil in the past 12 years. Somehow with Holland, neutral fans feel entitled to see a team forever stuck in the early seventies, tactically.

Dan on January 4, 2011 at 1:58 am

Actually de Jong got suspended for the Semi Final. But van Bommel only got 2 yellows in the competition, in the semi final and the final.

Tommy on December 30, 2010 at 3:39 pm

The Nederland vs. Brasil game just proved how much of a retard Dunga really is.

Everything about him perplexed me, from the selections of his squad right down to that game where they were eliminating. He was in charge of Brasil, the squad known and famous worldwide for being the most attack oriented XI in the world, and he decides to play them defensively. The whole thing was silly from start to finish.

After Elano got injured, he was left with little options on the right, and he had no one to blame for that but himself for all the ludicrous selections he made. But instead of employing a natural right midfielder/winger, he miraculously settles on playing two right backs Maicon and Dani Alves again, thinking that it’d work against a Holland side full of attacking options just because it worked against a lowly Chile side. I wonder if after that game he ever shot himself in the foot for choosing guys like Kleberson, Julio Baptista, and Grafite instead of guys who could have provided real offensive anchoring like Pato, Ronaldinho, and Diego.

As if playing two right backs wasn’t dumb enough, he decided to play two defensive mids and left only a half-fit Kaka to man the attacking midfield. To add insult to injury, those two DMs were Gilberto and Felipe Melo (LOL). The only thing more pathetic than Dunga calling him up to play for the World Cup is the fact that he’s the one who gave him his first Brazil apps and made him a first team regular.

To this day I have no idea why that clown was ever called up or signed for 25 mil by Juventus. Dunga should know damn well that the 2 other DMs along with Josue should have been Thiago Motta and Elias, not a washed up grandpa and the flop of the year in Italy.

Diverinho on December 30, 2010 at 4:35 pm

Also was puzzled why Ronaldinho and Pato were not selected for the WC. Especially Dinho had a very good season with Milano, with about 15 goals and assists each; AND actually working hard for the team rather then tricksing around pointlessly. Compare that to Kaka, who had a bad season with Real, was mostly injured and without match praxis. Seems he simply was a better buddy of Dunga to get selected. Diego in principle I also see as a better player than Kaka. At least when Diego was still playing at Werder, he was absolutely fantastic.

matt on December 30, 2010 at 8:27 pm

If you want a trequartista to lead and organize the counter attack, Kaka is almost unmatched. His delicate touch, pace, directness, and ability to both finish and play the killer ball made him perfect for Dunga’s system. Admittedly, he suffered with injuries, but he had a good World Cup. The problem was a lack of creativity behind him (no Pirlo or Xabi Alonso). I would not have called up Ronaldinho, but would have had Diego in case of injury to Kaka or as an attacking substitute (replace a holder).

Diverinho on January 1, 2011 at 5:34 pm

Kaka had indeed fantastic times some seasons earlier. But I guess it was a bit risky, to only have him and Elano as creative midfielders, especially with that injury season just behind. Agreed, there should have been some backup/alternative players for them. But against Holland it was finally a just a bit of bad luck, and on top of them bad morale that sealed their fate.

Victor on December 31, 2010 at 11:11 pm

In all fairness, that approach worked very well for Dunga. The results are there… he just lost like 3 or 4 games during the 4 years he managed the Brazil squad…

Dan on December 30, 2010 at 4:59 pm

I think the dutch also changed their defensive system slightly against Brazil. Beforehand they were having difficulty deciding who would pick up Robinho and he made life very difficult for them. In the second half I think they basically made it van der Wiel’s job and told de Jong to drop back give him support when Brazil had the ball on that flank. Once that happened they effectively neutralised Brazil’s most potent weapon, much in the way Inter neutralised Arjen Robben in the CL Final.

FooBar on January 3, 2011 at 5:17 am

The Dutch central back mainstay Joris Mathijssen was injured during the warming up for that game. He was replaced by 37 yr old Ooijer and the defensive organization had to be changed 10 minutes before the start. This disruption lead to one and very nearly 3 Brazilian goals in the first 5 minutes or so, before the Dutch organization recovered.

wouldn’t the aggregate score between Man Utd and Bayern be 4-4 instead of 5-5?

Mani on December 31, 2010 at 12:18 am

Barca-Villareal was just an immense game of football. 3-1 scoreline makes it sound like it was a typical routine game for Barca but both teams were outstanding.

DARREN WILSON on December 31, 2010 at 1:15 am

TAKE IT FROM ME, THE bARCA mADRID GAME THAT bARCA WON AT nOU CAMP 5-0 WILL BE NUMBER 1…

Jakob on December 31, 2010 at 9:55 am

Hate to be picking on the details, but in the Real-Barcelona your write Real used a flat diamond, what does that mean, is it a 3-1 formation? Anyway thanks a lot for an interesting and very informative site.

JediRage on December 31, 2010 at 1:43 pm

10 out of the top 10 games will be Bielsa’s Chile. I can guarantee it.